Check-in Troubleshooting

What to do when something goes wrong at the door

Stay calm — most check-in issues have a quick fix. Here's what to do for the most common scenarios, in order of how often they happen.

"The scanner isn't loading / the page is blank"

1. Force-refresh the page (pull down on mobile, or press Ctrl+R / Cmd+R on desktop).
2. If that doesn't work, close the browser tab entirely and reopen your check-in URL.
3. If you're on iOS and installed the PWA, delete the app and reopen the URL in Safari — iOS PWA caches can get stuck.
4. If none of the above works, switch devices. Your access code works on any phone or tablet.

"A scan is showing red / invalid"

Red scans mean one of three things:

• Already checked in — the ticket was scanned earlier. Ask the attendee if they came through another entry point. Check the Recent tab to see when it was scanned.
• Invalid QR code — the attendee may be showing the wrong email or a screenshot from a different order. Ask them to open their ticket confirmation email and show the QR code directly from the email.
• Refunded ticket — the ticket was refunded after purchase. It will show as invalid. The attendee should contact the organizer.

If you're confident the attendee is legitimate and the scan keeps failing, use Manual Lookup: tap the Search tab, type the attendee's name or email, and check them in manually from the search result.

"My magic link expired"

Magic links are valid for 8 hours and single-use. If yours has expired:

1. Go to your check-in URL (the organizer should have shared this with you — it looks like equaticket.com/checkin/[event-id]/live).
2. Enter the access code the organizer provided. The access code never expires.
3. If you don't have the access code, ask the organizer — they can find it in their event's Check-in tab on the dashboard.

"The organizer's account / Stripe is disconnected"

If you see a message that ticket sales are paused or the event is no longer active, this is a billing or Stripe issue on the organizer's side — not something door staff can fix. Contact the organizer directly. They can resolve it from Settings → Payments.

"We're offline / no internet at the venue"

If your device loses internet:

• The offline banner will appear at the top of the scanner.
• Paid tier orgs: The scanner continues to work offline using a locally synced attendee list. Scans are queued and will sync when you reconnect. The banner shows how many scans are pending.
• Free tier orgs: The scanner requires internet. Use the Attendee List (download a CSV before the event from the Attendees page) as a manual fallback.
• When in doubt, check the banner — if it says "N attendees loaded · scans validate locally", you're good to keep scanning.

"I need to check someone in but they don't have their QR code"

Use the Search tab in the scanner. Search by name or email address. Find their ticket and tap "Check In" manually. This works both online and offline (for paid tier orgs with a synced manifest).

"A team member can't log in / their magic link doesn't work"

The organizer can resend a magic link from the dashboard: go to the event's Check-in tab, find the "Send to Staff" section, and resend to the staff member's email. The new link invalidates the old one.

Alternatively, share the access code directly — it works as a fallback login for any staff member on any device, no email required.

Emergency fallback

If everything is broken and you need to keep the line moving:

1. Download the attendee list as a CSV from the Attendees page before the event (the organizer should do this in advance as a backup).
2. Check names against the CSV manually.
3. Mark tickets as checked in retroactively from the dashboard once you're back online.

The organizer can also check in attendees from the main dashboard (not the scanner) — go to the Attendees page, find the ticket, and manually mark as checked in.

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Device and technical issues

If your check-in device is having issues during an event, use this guide to quickly diagnose and fix the problem.

Camera not working for QR scanning

• Check browser permissions: Make sure the camera is allowed for the Equaticket site. Look for a camera icon in the browser's address bar.
• Close other camera apps: Another app may be using the camera. Close any video or photo apps.
• Try a different browser: Chrome is recommended for the best PWA and camera experience.
• Check lighting: QR codes may not scan in low light. Ask the attendee to increase their phone screen brightness.
• Use manual check-in as a fallback: Search by attendee name or enter their ticket code manually from the check-in page.

Scans show amber "retrying" status

This means the scan was validated locally but the server write is failing, usually due to network issues.

• Check WiFi or cellular signal on the device.
• Good news: If you are on a paid tier, the client-side HMAC verification is still working. The green/red result shown to you is accurate -- fake tickets will still be rejected.
• Writes will retry automatically every 5 seconds when the network returns.
• Risk during network loss: Duplicate check-ins (same ticket scanned at two gates) will not be caught until the network reconnects.

Check-in page redirects to access code entry

Your check-in session has expired. Check-in sessions last up to 8 hours.

• If you are an organizer (owner, admin, or event manager): open the scanner URL while signed into the dashboard and you will be authenticated automatically — no code required.
• If you are door staff: re-enter the access code for the event. Find it on the Check-in tab in the event dashboard (the organizer can also re-send it to you by email from the Door Staff Access panel).
• After re-authentication, the HMAC secret is refreshed automatically.

Check-in page will not load (blank or stuck)

1. Clear your browser cache: Go to browser settings, clear cached files, and reload.
2. Try incognito/private mode to bypass any corrupted cache.
3. Try a different device as a backup.
4. Check internet connectivity -- the page needs network access to load initially.

Other devices do not see my check-ins (realtime sync issue)

Realtime sync uses Supabase Realtime (available on paid tiers). If sync stops:

• The system automatically falls back to polling mode (checking every 10 seconds).
• Check-ins still work on each device individually -- sync is just delayed.
• Stats will reconcile once all devices are connected.

Emergency: all digital check-in has failed

If you cannot get any device working:

1. Switch to manual name lookup using the cached attendee list (if the PWA loaded at any point).
2. As a last resort, use your printed attendee list as a backup.
3. Never turn away a buyer who can show a valid payment confirmation on their phone.
4. Reconcile check-in records after the event from your dashboard.

See also

• Setting Up Check-in
• Event Day Mode
• Managing Your Team